What are the common complications of colorectal cancer

Epidemiological data from around the world show that the incidence of colorectal cancer ranks third among all types of malignant tumors. In recent years, its incidence has been on the rise, seriously affecting people's health. Let's take a look at the common complications of colorectal cancer.

intestinal obstruction

Intestinal obstruction is the most common complication in patients with colorectal cancer. As the tumor gradually grows, the intestinal cavity becomes narrower and narrower, and the intestinal contents are blocked, leading to mechanical intestinal obstruction. Sometimes it is not caused by the tumor completely blocking the intestinal cavity, but as the tumor grows, it stimulates the local intestinal cavity to produce inflammatory edema and food blockage, resulting in abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, and cessation of anal gas and defecation. 70% of colorectal cancer obstructions are located in the left colon.

Intestinal perforation

Intestinal perforation mainly manifests as acute abdominal symptoms, including abdominal muscle tension, tenderness, rebound pain, and crescent-shaped free gas under the diaphragm. Perforation may be related to the following factors:

1. Intestinal obstruction caused by tumors: The site of intestinal perforation is mostly proximal to the obstruction.

2. Ulcerative and invasive cancers: This type of intestinal cancer may not cause intestinal obstruction. It is because the tumor grows too fast and the cancer cell center is lacking in nutrition, which causes the cancerous tissue to slowly necrotize and fall off, forming intestinal perforation.

Bleeding

Intestinal cancer rarely causes acute massive bleeding, because the lesions are close to the anus, the blood is usually bright red or dark red, and the blood and stool are separated. Only when the amount of bleeding is slightly more, the stool will be brown-red and jam-like.

Neuralgia

Neuralgia is pain caused by tumor compression of the sciatic nerve or the obturator nerve root in the lumbar sacral region.